TO USE that grand old Scottish saying (albeit slightly tweaked) - Aye, we ken noo!!
We now know that Leinster wil entertain Glasgow Warriors in the Rabo Direct PRO12 grand final, in Dublin, on 31 May. I rather expected the final to be in Dublin, a combination of the ravages of a hard season, not to mention a huge injury list - plus the fact home advantage has always been crucial - meant the Dubs beat the men from Up North.
So, BOD, one of the absolute greatest players in the history of Rugby Union, does indeed get his chance to play his final game, in his home town, in a biig final.
This immediately casts Glasgow into the role of potential villains and party-poopers. The public will want, nay demand, that Brian O'Driscoll bows out a winner. Not me, however, yes, he and the (in my opinion) even greater Mike Gibson are the centres in my All-Time World XV to take on Mars - but, in this instance, particularly if his immediate opponent is the young man from my old Cumnock club, Mark Bennett, I want to see BOD dumped on his fat arse early on and trampled. I want Glasgow to win.
I also believe, they can win, but, remember, it is Leinster they are facing, in Dublin - winning will be incredibly difficult for Glasgow. It should also be quite a game.
GLASGOW were simply awesome in overcoming the considerable Munster challenge. Here was a game from which you couldn't drag your eyes as it unfolded in all its bloody beauty. Both sides defended as if their very lives depended on it; at time it wasn't pretty, but, there were still some memorable moments, in both attack and defence.
Glasgow, I feel, won because they had the better strength-in-depth, more-so on the bench. Ryan Grant, a Lions prop remember, had to go off, and was replaced by Gordy Reid - who scored the crucial match-winning try. Niko Matawalu came on and worked his magic for the impressive Chris Cusiter, while who would have believed Sean Lamont being able to come on and do a turn as a flanker?
This strength-in-depth, this solid, right through the squad work and team ethic will be required if the team is to win in Dublin. You know, they can do it.
Mind you, a Glasgow win would be more-possible, with the right referee. It looks as if Nigel Owens will get the gig - him being the top non-Irish or Scottish referee available to the PRO12 management. He will certainly (if he does get the gig), do a better job than the poor, in every way, out-of-his-depth Italian official did at Scotstoun.
I still cannot work-out how the first Munster try was allowed to stand - leaving aside the Keith Earles assault on Alex Dunbar, I watched the replays from every angle - it was, in my albeit slightly one-eyed view, impossible to say for sure that the ball was down on or over the line - just as it was with the try which wasn't given.
We deserve more consistency. Also, the officials were repeatedly conned by Munster, who are past-masters at this sort of thing. It is this "street-wise" approach which makes Munster a somewhat unloved team - in many ways the Leicester of the PRO12.
But, and this is an old hobby-horse of mine. Any sport which, as rugby does, is at the mercy of refereeing interpretation of the Laws, of player uncertainty from game to game, is a game with problems.
I have repeatedly said, by appearing to do nothing, John Jeffre`y and his fellow Bufties in the IRB are, by continuing to tinker rather than properly overhaul the Laws, are doing Rugby Union no favours.
BT is my internet service provider, therefore, I get BT Sport free, which gives me access to their excellent coverage of the English Premiership. Now, I do not subscribe to the English media view that, just as its football equivalent is "the greatest league in the world", so too, by simply having that word "English" in its title, the "Aviva" is rugby's equivalent.
Yes, like the football one, English rugby's top league is over-hyped. But, to be fair, it is a hard-fought league, the intensity is extreme and, there are some excellent players on view.
I enjoyed the two semi-finals, in particular, the waySaracens made light of their two yellow cards to come through and win. My late elder brother played for Sarries back in the amateur era, while another old school chum of mine, these many years in New Zealand, still speaks fondly of his time with the club. So, yes, I was happy that they won.
I was less happy with the attitude of Chris Robshaw and Mike Brown, who seemed to me to believe, because they were, respectively, the captain of England and England's player of the Six Nations, they are somewhat special.
The spirit of Will Carling still haunts The Stoop.
BTW, I think in the semi-final, Kelly Brown surely showed, he is a number six, and, a bloody good one - great try he scored.
But, what really stuck-out from the two English semi-dinals was -England has some good referees, in particular the oft-maligned Wayne Barnes, who was really very good at Allianz Park.
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